I. "Cinderella Man"
A. James J. Braddock (Jimmy)
1. Boxer in 1920s and 1930s
2. Was a lightweight champion before he broke his wrist
B. Married to Mae Braddock
1. Three kids together
2. Mae worries about Jimmy getting hurt in the fights
II.Great Depression
A. Family loses everything
1. Jimmy loses all of his money in the stock market
2. Jimmy looks for shifts at the dock to make some money
3. Mortgage is overdue
4. Electric and heat get turned off
5. Not enough food
B. James broke his wrist in a fight
1. Got his boxing license suspended
2. Money is tighter
3.Asks for money from Emergency Relief
4. Asks for money from big executives at Madison Square Garden
III. James is back in the ring
A. James' manager, Joe, gets him a fight at Madison Square Garden now that his hand is healed
1. Corn Griffin vs. James J. Braddock, Braddock wins
2. John Henry Lewis vs. James J. Braddock, Braddock wins
3. Art Lasky vs. James J. Braddock, Braddock wins
B. Mae worries about Jimmy getting hurt in the fights.
1. Her explanation is that if Jimmy gets hurt, he won't be able to work, and they won't have money.
IV. The Big Fight
A. Jimmy, the underdog
1. Jimmy pays back the money he received from Emergency Relief
2. A sports reporter calls Jimmy the "Cinderella Man" (rags to riches story)
B. Max says to Mae that Jimmy might not make it out of the fight alive.
1. She doesn't watch the fight in person or listen to it one the radio because she fears for Jimmy's life.
2. Baer was said to have killed two men while boxing.
C. June 13, 1935
1. Braddock wins against Baer and becomes the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
V. Afterwards
A. Life After Boxing
1. Jimmy works in construction of the Verrazano Bridge and owned and worked with heavy machinery on the docks where he worked shifts during the Great Depression.
2. Mae and Jimmy use the money from the fights to buy the house that they lived in for the rest of their days.
